After finally getting back to the true Bleach storyline at the
start of Series 6, things took another filler departure at the end of the last
volume. Unfortunately we start off again in filler territory, but
thankfully things begin to pick up as this volume progresses.

The first four episodes in this series are pretty limp
standalone side stories focusing on Ichigo's sister Karin trying to get Captain
Hitsugaya to play football, Ikkaku training some kids to swordfight for a kendo
tournament, Yumichika learning to bake cakes and Rangiku helping a lonely child
by transferring Kon's mod soul to her stuffed toy dog. They're all
cringeworthy, so the appearance of some Arrancar makes for a welcome diversion.
Arrancar Patros and two followers break away from Aizen, steal the Hogyoku and
attempt to force Kisuke to unlock its secrets. However, Kisuke's away and
they come face to face with Hitsugaya's team instead! Their appearance is
just the beginning though. An even deadlier threat is to come in the form
of a group of Espada - the highest ranking Arrancar - who attack Karakura
unexpectedly. Even with the aid of Kisuke the Espada Yammy, Luppi and
Wonderweiss are proving a serious threat to Hitsugaya's team, and elsewhere
Ichigo is in a desperate battle of his own against the returning Grimmjow.
Despite the tough fight Aizen's true objective lies elsewhere, and with all of
Karakura's most powerful fighters already engaged there's little to stand in the
way of his plan. The deadly Espada Ulquiorra has approached one of
Ichigo's friends with an ultimatum - join Aizen or watch Ichigo and their other
friends die. Cornered and with no-one to help them is there anything they
can do to escape the cold and calculating Ulquiorra?

As you would no doubt expect from the above this
volume is once again a bit of a mixed bag. The less said about the
first few episodes the better to be honest, they're the usual filler
drivel which takes established characters and puts them unfamiliar
situations for 'hilarious' results. Needless to say they're pretty
pointless, and their only redeeming feature is that they at least don't
crowbar Ichigo in all the time. Things do pick up when the
Arrancar arrive, but only really kick off when the Espada attack.
This signals the return to the true storyline once again, and also gives
us the opportunity to see Ichigo, Hitsugaya and Kisuke show off their
powers against some powerful opponents. Ichigo in particular is
given the

chance to use his Hollowfication powers in battle for
the first time, and we also get a true demonstration of how hard Shinji
really is. After all the silliness the volume started with the
switch into pure action and then to drama is both a relief and thankful
return to the style that makes Bleach worth watching.

To be fair, ignoring the first few episodes, the
majority of this volume is pretty much solid action. Mostly it's
great action too, with some great set pieces and grand proclamations
providing everything you'd expect from a leading 'Shonen' action series.
However, what I've always liked about Bleach is that it can on
occasion do emotional drama pretty well, keeping it for the most part
heartfelt rather than cheesy. This volume is no exception, and the
final episode, which focuses solely on one of Ichigo's friends as they
wander Karakura town in a ghost-like state deciding who to say their one
final goodbye to, is amongst my favourite in the series so far. I
really like it when an anime steps outside of its usual remit and
changes pace like this, especially when it is done well, and the end of
this episode is one of the most emotionally charged scenes the series
has done.

It's frustrating that a series that is capable of
episodes like this resorts to stereotypical banality when it comes to
the filler episodes like those that started this volume. Many of
these continuously-running anime series are starting to mix the filler
in every few episodes to keep them a fair few steps behind the manga
storyline, but I just wish it wasn't so inane. Again, another
gripe from the last series remains an issue to me, and that's the fact
they continue to keep the Bount detecting Mod-Souls Lirin, Kurodo and
Nova in the story even though they are a) completely pointless and b)
annoying. The only time they get any notable input in the story is
during the filler episodes, and the rest of the time they are

used for comedy asides which are generally completely
unnecessary. The seem to be used a lot to cover for the fact that
Kon isn't in the story much at this point, providing the comic relief in
his absence. This is pretty much an unnecessary job, particularly
when the story is going to more dramatically interesting places.

In the end Bleach Series 7 Part 1 provides more
of the same in many ways, mixing the frustrating filler episodes with
the more action-packed and intriguing main storyline. This volume
shows both the best and worst of the series, combining some inane
episodes which try - and fail - to expand the characters, with some
really exciting and emotionally involving ones. Overall it remains
entertaining and action-packed but the end of the volume shows some
levels of dramatic impact all too often missing from the series.
It also sets up some interesting possibilities for the next volume, and
it will be interesting to see how Ichigo and Soul Society will react to
the outcome of Aizen's plan. A potentially great volume marred by
a weak start, but worth a look nonetheless.

Extras

As always just textless opening sequences, trailers and
production art galleries, plus the 'Arrancar Encyclopaedia' comedy segments
after the credits of each episode.